Nick Cassidy pulled off a stunning drive in Mexico City, storming from 13th on the grid to hand Citroen its first Formula E win—only their second race in the series.

Citroen just joined the all-electric championship for the 2025/26 season, but they’re already making waves. Cassidy had already grabbed third in the Sao Paulo opener, and now he’s added a win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Smart energy management and a clever, off-sync Attack Mode strategy were the keys for the New Zealander, who shared the podium with Edoardo Mortara and reigning champ Oliver Rowland.

The day was a wild one—it was the 150th Formula E race, and it kicked off with drama in qualifying. Taylor Barnard set the fastest time, but a track limits violation at the final corner wiped out his lap in the duel for pole.

That handed the pole to Sebastien Buemi, but his luck didn’t last. He misjudged the first braking zone and went straight into the escape road at Turn 1. Barnard inherited the lead, but it was far from settled; early laps saw drivers swapping the front spot as they juggled energy-saving and Attack Mode timing.

Pascal Wehrlein jumped from eighth to first by lap five, hoping to control the race from the front—he figured overtaking would be tough later on. Turns out, he was wrong. Once his four-minute Attack Mode ended, Wehrlein slipped down the order, and it became clear that strategy would decide this one.

Patience with Attack Mode and saving battery for the end paid off, especially after a yellow flag-turned-safety car between laps 17 and 20. Nyck de Vries triggered that after a mechanical issue sent him off at Turn 1.

Things got messier on lap 25: Antonio Felix da Costa, defending from Cassidy, tangled with Maximilian Gunther, who spun and knocked da Costa into Dan Ticktum at Turns 5 and 6. That chaos was for the lower end of the top 10, while Cassidy’s charge was just heating up. Over the final 13 laps, he went all-in, using his full eight minutes of Attack Mode. He started with a six-minute burst, leaving him only two minutes of extra power just as Mortara—second place—still had four minutes left.

Even so, Cassidy managed his energy better than Mortara in the Mahindra, setting up a nail-biting finish. Mortara went on the attack, but Cassidy’s defence held solid, delivering his 13th series win. The close fight up front let Rowland close in and take third after passing Barnard and Jake Dennis in the late stages.

Wehrlein ended up sixth, with rookie Pepe Marti in seventh—he’d also saved his battery for a late push. Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Muller, and Norman Nato rounded out the points.

Now, Cassidy leads the championship. And if the pattern holds, he’s in good shape: the last three Mexico City E-Prix winners all went on to become world champions.

Max Verstappen says his connection with GianPiero Lambiase goes way beyond the usual driver-engineer relationship. He doesn’t just see him as a colleague—he calls him a friend.

He shared these thoughts right after clinching victory at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the time, nobody knew if Lambiase would stick with Red Bull or head off to Aston Martin. Now, with Red Bull confirming Lambiase will stay on for 2026, Verstappen’s words feel even more meaningful.

Lambiase has been by Verstappen’s side since May 2016, and their partnership started strong—winning their very first race together at the Spanish Grand Prix. Since then, they’ve picked up four consecutive world titles from 2021 to 2024.

This past season, Verstappen just missed out on a fifth championship. Lando Norris edged him out by two points at the Abu Dhabi finale. After the race, Lambiase looked crushed on the pit wall, holding back tears. People started to wonder if he was about to leave Verstappen behind for 2026.

At one point, it seemed like Lambiase might move into a behind-the-scenes role or even jump ship to Aston Martin, which had their eye on him for a senior position. But as of this week, Red Bull confirmed he’s staying put, keeping his race engineer job and head of racing duties for next season.

In the press conference after Abu Dhabi, Verstappen didn’t hide how much Lambiase means to him. “He’s my friend,” Max said. “I’m really proud to work with someone that good.”

He went on, “It’s been an emotional year. Forget about the results. I won’t get into all the details, but it’s been tough. I’m just happy I get to work with someone so passionate. Yeah, he’s my race engineer, but honestly, he’s my friend. We’ve been through so much together—the highs and the lows. I’m sure he was emotional after the race. I can’t wait to catch up with him, because this year hasn’t been easy for him. He’s a real example of someone who never gave up, even when things got rough.”

Now that Lambiase’s future is settled, Red Bull can focus on what’s coming next. The 2026 F1 season is bringing some of the biggest rule changes ever—half-electric powertrains, fully sustainable fuels, and active aerodynamics. Red Bull will build its own engines for the first time, working with Ford through its Powertrains division.

Next week, Red Bull and Racing Bulls will show off their 2026 car liveries at a Ford launch event in Detroit. The new Red Bull RB22 is set to run pushrod suspension at both the front and back, and Ferrari’s going down the same path for their 2026 car. Most teams are likely to use this double-pushrod setup—it should make the cars more predictable as F1 ditches the ground-effect designs used from 2022 to 2025. Plus, it helps fit the new, more complex engines into the cars.